Athletes in all sports and at all levels are stronger, faster and more physical than ever before. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 200,000 people suffer at least one concussion while playing sports every year in the United States. Sports concussions can occur in almost any sport or recreational activity. However, sports concussions occur more frequently, and are typically more severe, in physical contact sports, such as football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey and field hockey. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently settled a class action lawsuit by agreeing to create a seventy million dollar ($70,000,000) fund to diagnose current and former NCAA athletes to determine if they suffer from brain trauma as a result of a sports concussion incurred while participating in football, hockey, soccer and other contact sports.
A concussion occurs when a force causes the brain to rapidly move back and forth inside the skull as a result of a direct impact or an impact to the body that causes the head to quickly rotate. Concussions typically take the form of a mild, but traumatic brain injury that temporarily impairs how the brain functions and processes information. For example, a concussion may cause temporary loss of balance, coordination, memory and/or speech. Thankfully, most athletes fully recover from a sports concussion given a sufficient period of time for the healing process. Sports concussions are typically short lived and the athlete usually recovers completely within seven to ten days. Unfortunately, once an athlete has suffered a concussion, he or she is at significantly greater risk to suffer an additional concussion. In addition, repeat concussions have a cumulative effect and can result in long-term adverse consequences. Thus, the prevention of sports concussions is essential.
Absent total prevention, early recognition and proper treatment of sports concussions greatly reduces the likelihood of repeat concussions and their long term adverse effects. It is now known that recognizing sports concussion and providing proper treatment is especially important to younger athletes because they typically require a longer period to time to recover fully. However, the symptoms of a concussion are not always readily apparent. It is commonly assumed that concussion causes loss of consciousness. But in fact, many athletes that have suffered a concussion are not “knocked out.” Further problematic is that the symptoms of a concussion are varied and time dependent. Certain symptoms manifest immediately, while other symptoms are delayed up to several days following the initial injury. In addition, some symptoms are physical, such as drowsiness and dizziness, while some are cognitive, such as memory loss and heightened emotion. Consequently, coaches, parents and even physicians are not always able to recognize that a concussion injury has occurred, and/or the likely severity of the injury.
The limited liability company Battle Sports Science of Omaha, Nebr., has developed and is marketing a visual impact indicator for use with a sports helmet. The impact indicator is embedded in a chinstrap that attaches to the helmet and includes a rechargeable battery, a micro-sensor, micro-circuitry, associated software and a light-emitting diode (LED). When charged, the battery powers the micro-circuitry that activates and monitors the micro-sensor and illuminates the LED. The micro-sensor, micro-circuitry and associated software measure and calculate the force and direction of an impact to the helmet and compare the severity of the impact against the widely accepted Head Injury Criterion (HIC) levels. In the event that an impact to the helmet exceeds the applicable HIC level, the micro-circuitry and associated software illuminates the LED, for example in the form of a flashing red indicator light to attract the attention of a coach, a referee, or another athlete.
The Battle Sports Science chinstrap impact indicator is fairly effective for recognizing when an impact force has occurred that is severe enough to potentially cause a concussion injury. However, the chinstrap impact indicator suffers from several deficiencies. Firstly, the battery must be sufficiently charged to power the micro-circuitry and other electronic components necessary to measure, calculate and compare an impact force to HIC levels and to subsequently illuminate the LED in the event that the impact force exceeds the applicable HIC level. Secondly, the micro-sensor, micro-circuitry and associated software are expensive, sensitive electronic components that are susceptible to failure during normal use due to the severity of the operating environment and the harsh physical environment of many sports and recreational activities. In fact, the more severe an impact force is the more likely it is that the electronic components of the chinstrap impact indicator will fail. Finally, the chinstrap impact indicator relies on the measurement of an impact force that typically occurs at a location remote from the chinstrap, such as the crown of the helmet or the rear of the helmet. As a result, the chinstrap impact indicator is inherently less reliable for determining whether a potentially injurious impact force has occurred at a location remote from the chinstrap.
In view of the aforementioned deficiencies in known impact indicators, there exists a need for an improved safety device and method for sports equipment. More particularly, there exists a need for an impact indicator for sports equipment that is configured to visually indicate when an athlete has suffered an impact force severe enough to potentially cause a concussion. There exists a further and more specific need for a cost-effective and reliable impact indicator for a sports helmet that is configured to provide a visual indicator when an area remote from the chinstrap of the helmet is subjected to an impact force that exceeds a predetermined threshold, and therefore, could potentially cause a sports concussion injury to an athlete that is wearing the helmet while participating in a sports or recreational activity.